


Bits and Pieces

by redlittleowl



Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Fate/stay night (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, still not happy (mostly), the one with all the characters, the one with all the pairings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-23
Updated: 2014-04-28
Packaged: 2018-01-20 13:58:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1513058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redlittleowl/pseuds/redlittleowl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Song prompts for various characters and pairings in the Fate universe, specifically Zero and Stay Night.</p><p>ON HIATUS--my computer is wonky and my backup USB died, so unfortunately I am unable to continue 'Bits and Pieces' at this time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When I'm Gone

**Author's Note:**

> The other day, I was desperately scrabbling for any excuse to take a break from my math homework (oh college, you horrible time-consumer you), and so, not knowing what else to do, I pressed the play button on my iPhone dock. Titanium, by Sia and David Guetta, started playing.
> 
> For some reason (the most likely one being I bought the song around the time I was watching Fate/Zero the first time with friends), I have always associated Titanium with the Servants of the Fourth Holy Grail War. Since I am also currently using rewatching Fate/Zero as an excuse to stave off the dreaded homework gremlins, I then pounced on the idea of making a playlist of songs that I thought would ‘work’ for the Fate universe and that I could somehow connect to at least one character in the series. And thus, this collection of shorts (or perhaps not-so-shorts; I suppose we’ll see as this progresses) hurdled its way out of my brain and onto my computer screen.

_“I'll never let you down, even if I could._   
_I'd give up everything if only for your good._   
_So hold me when I'm here, right me when I'm wrong,_   
_You can hold me when I'm scared,_   
_You won't always be there,_   
_So love me when I'm gone._

_Or maybe I’m just blind…”_

—Three Doors Down, _When I’m Gone_

 

 **Kariya**. He will not lose. He will not give up. He will win the Holy Grail War.

*\\*/*

Kariya hisses through clenched teeth and reaches out his right hand to command Berserker, the worms slithering madly around his face and through his blood vessels.

He can feel them feed off his pain.

He refuses to let them kill him.

He will win the Holy Grail War, for Sakura and Aoi and Rin. He refuses to do it for anyone else. He defies his father in bits and pieces every day, and he would gladly spit in Tokiomi’s face if given the chance.

Or let Berserker break it with a sledgehammer. Kariya doesn’t really care. Tokiomi deserves that and more, for selling his seven-year-old daughter to the Matou family.

Above him, past the concrete and piping and dirt and grass, his Servant roars, and Kariya chokes on his own blood as the worms feed off his prana.

*\\*/*

Kariya hisses through clenched teeth and reaches out his right hand to command the bugs inside him, the worms—

He can feel them feed off his prana but—

He refuses to let them kill her.

His bugs streak around him and attack the tentacle thing moving toward Rin. He commands them to eat away at it until there is nothing left. He is glad that Rin passes out just as his bugs fly past her; she doesn’t need to see this.

She will no doubt see worse if she grows up to be as good of a Tohsaka as her father is, though. Kariya still will not let it start this early.

In front of him, amidst all the stench and chaos and darkness and blood, his bugs finish off the monster, and Kariya chokes on his own spit as the worms feed off his blood.

*\\*/*

Kariya hisses through clenched teeth and reaches out his right hand to command both Berserker and the bugs around him, worms—

He can feel them feed off his blood—

He refuses to let them kill them.

His bugs fly past him and burn out against Tokiomi’s shield, but he refuses to give up. He focuses and throws himself forward, rage embedded in his very bones, but Tokiomi sets him alight with German fire and he falls off the tower.

He plummets, and screams his rage to the rapidly-receding skies. Kariya refuses to give up, this fall will _not_ kill him, he needs to save Sakura—

He hits the ground, buried in rubble and trash and boxes and slime, and Kariya chokes on bits of his own bones as he worms feed off his organs.

*\\*/*

Kariya howls through the pain and reaches out his mind to command himself, Sakura-Aoi’s figure dancing madly across his vision and the worms

eat _everything_

he refuses…!

Berserker’s roars echo through his head even though he’s not there anymore because Saber _Saber_ saber

He’s coughing up blood but he needs to _save_ —

His body slumps to the ground, and Kariya does nothing because the worms have eaten all the essential parts of him.


	2. Titanium

_“I’m bulletproof, nothing to lose._  
 _Fire away, fire away._  
 _Ricochet, you take your aim._  
 _Fire away, fire away.  
_ _You shoot me down, but I won’t fall._

_I am titanium.”_

—Sia, _Titanium_

**Waver/Rider**. Iskander charges into his final battle, the roar of Ôkeanos’ waves pounding in his ears. Waver watches on in silence, and Ôkeanos rises up to drown him in his own emotions.

*\\*/*

“Rider!” Waver reaches out, but his Servant does not reply, already charging at Archer with Bucephalus all momentum and bulging muscles underneath him. Waver chokes on his breath and watches him go.

And when Archer’s rain of weapons comes firing down at Rider and begins to pierce his flesh—to _kill_ him—Waver finds he cannot even move. The man who has dragged him along to every single battle in their conquest for the Grail is dying in his final charge, and Waver cannot do a thing.

He does nothing when Bucephalus is shot down under Rider, and Rider falls to the ground to get up and keep charging forward.

He does nothing when Rider is shot through the shoulder and roars his defiance at Archer, still rushing forward with his gladius leading the charge.

He does nothing when Rider is encircled by Archer’s enchanted chain mere milliseconds from actually cleaving the other Servant’s head in two, his gladius paused a hand’s width away from Archer’s face.

He does nothing when Archer kills Rider, but something inside him _snaps_ at the blood trickling from Rider’s mouth and the wistful look on his face as he dies, his body disintegrating into golden sparks before disappearing forever.

He does _something_ when Archer asks him: “Kid. Are you Rider’s Master?”

“No,” Waver replies, his voice shaking. “I am his subject.” Waver sees when Archer notes the lack of Command Spells on his hand and takes him at his word.

“I see,” the Servant in front of him replies. “However, kid, if you really are his loyal subject, you have a duty to avenge your fallen king.”

Waver refuses. He will die if he does. Archer contemplates him, then finally says:

“Your loyalty is splendid. Never tarnish it.”

And as the Servant who killed Rider turns his back on Waver and leaves him standing on the bridge, Waver Velvet falls to the ground and lets the tears of Ôkeanos fall.

**Author's Note:**

> I am not Gen Urobuchi, nor am I Nasu Kinoko. I was never acquainted with any money during the process of writing this. Sad face.
> 
> The Fate universe is not mine. None of these characters are mine. I did not come up with any of these songs, either lyrically or musically. All these ‘shorts’ are being written for fun and not for profit.
> 
> Ahead be spoilers, both of plot and character. Consider yourselves warned.
> 
> There are no happy endings. If you find one here, something is wrong—so please let me know if you find one so I can euthanize it.
> 
> Enjoy!


End file.
